When Art Works

Comments (0) By Heidi De Vries Wednesday, Apr 11 2012

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Southern Exposure

3030 20th St.
San Francisco, CA 94110

Category: Galleries

Region: Mission/ Bernal Heights

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Mushrooms are the new plastics. At least according to San Francisco artist Philip Ross, a man who has spent years coaxing reishi mushrooms into the shapes of blocks and other architectural forms in the hope that they could be the next environmentally friendly construction material. Ross is one of a new breed of artists who are equal parts rigorous scientist and creation junkie. He is also the instigator of the local Critter science salons, at which attendees learn about topics including plant cloning and edible insects, and one of the artists in the group show “Intimate Science.”These creators share an interest in making science and technology accessible to those who don’t normally spend their waking hours in a laboratory. Besides Ross’ fungus fantasias, visitors to the exhibition might also notice a bouquet of seemingly innocent carnations from Tokyo duo BCL. The flowers’ luminous purple color is synthetic and trademarked by Japan’s Suntory company. BCL has hacked into the plants’ very genetic code with the intention of releasing the hue out into the wild, free of corporate control. Meanwhile, Seattle resident Allison Kudla displays images of hypnotic patterns randomly formed by leaf tissue she learned how to culture in a petri dish. This is a woman who started out as a painter and an animator, but as her career progressed she found herself increasingly drawn to biology. Next thing you know, she was designing a machine to create 3-D plant art, also on view in the show. These artists don’t just dabble in science, they practice it.
Tuesdays-Saturdays, noon. Starts: April 20. Continues through June 2, 2012